Turns out to be a busy day as Sharks acquire Scott Hannan from Nashville, Raffi Torres from Phoenix

More eventful day than expected and now that online stories have been filed, time for a quick post before heading to Sharks Ice for session with GM Doug Wilson.

First Sharks acquired Scott Hannan from Nashville for a conditional 2013 seventh-round draft pick that becomes a sixth-rounder if he sees action in a playoff game.

Then just before the noon deadline, San Jose picked up a guy who was public enemy No. 1 around here back in 2006, Raffi Torres, from Phoenix for a 2013 third-round pick.

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From the online story:

In picking up Torres, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson picked up a player with a history of suspensions, including one for 25 games last spring for a hit on Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa. Torres has also hurt San Jose in the past as his hit on forward Milan Michalek during a 2006 playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers is considered the turning point that sent the Sharks down to defeat.

Torres, 31, is in the final year of a contract paying him a pro-rated $1.75 million this season.

Wilson said he felt team played well enough lately to deserve an addition and Torres provided some of the toughness that left with Ryane Clowe.

*****Hannan is “banged up” at the moment and will need a little time to heal. Consider him more of a mentor and insurance policy rather than someone likely to get much ice time in his second go-round with San Jose.

“Our back end is relatively young right now,” Todd McLellan said. “Scotty’s been here before – we understand his character and how he carries himself around the rink and around the locker room and we thought he’d be a very good fit to come in and be a mentoring defenseman, somebody that’s been through some good times and some bad times in San Jose as far as wins and losses.

“He should be able to be comfortable here,” McLellan continued. There’s only 24-25 days left in the season and as we move forward, we’ll try to work him into the lineup. We have that insurance policy on the back end now.”

*****More later. Gotta run.

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David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

Holy….Raffi Torres!…public enemy number 1, the folks calling for toughness just got a guy that fits that mold. Wow, 2 depth bodies 1 for insurance another for the 4th line. I would guess Burrish is back to the pressbox if Torres is dressed

MW

Per DP: “Wilson said he felt team played well enough lately to deserve an addition and Torres provided some of the toughness that left with Ryane Clowe.”

lol

DW: “Great work out there past few weeks guys. Here’s your reward: it’s that guy you hate!.”

“Enjoy!”

John

Raffe Torres… uggghhhh…. Just send him to Worchester, and keep him out of the NHL. Awful and embarrassing.

oldtadpole

#2: Spot on with Burrish comment. Somebody needs to be available who WILL do the dirty work. Thinking of Claude Lemiex… Very interesting development

http://www.twitter.com/zakkthebear zakk the bear

absolute waste of the 3rd the Sharks got in the Clowe trade. another DW Deadline Special that will walk right into UFA.

and I’ll be booing Torres for the rest of time.

WTF

Well said LoCo39. I like this move, but on many other websites people are calling for Wilson’s head with this trade. C’mon, really? Like anyone that logs into a website to post a comment has any idea how to run an NHL team, or put one together.

Spbob72

Let’s see Stuart is back…Hannan is back…Wonder what Mike Rathje is doing?

Jeffy

No worries. Most tough guys that come to SJ end up as pussies. ie Adam Burish.

http://Workingthecorners Sharkita

I’m not really feeling it. We DW like recycle so much?

Dirty

I like the idea of opposing players thinking about answering to Raffi before they take a run a Logan, et al.

I know a lot of people don’t like this signing, but it’s what the team also sorely needed. I remember feeling disgusted when the Sharks Mike Ricci joined the team. It took a while, but i got over it.

Damphousse25

Don’t like the Torres trade at all. Hope Torres proves us wrong.

wheelz

I feel disgusted to be Shark fan right now with Torres in the lineup.

@Dirty, Was only a little kid in boston when Ricci came over to teal, it gets better huh? Cuz right now I’ve never been so pissed about a 3rd round pick in my life

dk

ie: Torres

My first reaction was: This POS has injured so many of our players with dirty hits in the playoffs.

Then I thought: He can’t hurt our players if he is in the same jersey, right?

Only way I like this deal is if DW picked him up to park him in the press box. Just so he wouldn’t be on the ice against us. I do not EVER want to see him in a Sharks sweater.

Clowes A Beast

Wow what a piece and not to mention he’s not a tough guy. He just hits and turtles. He doesn’t stick up for teammates he’s worse than Ben Edgar. Still would like to trade a nobody for Brian mcgratton.

Jay

Today was like living a M. Night Shyamalan twist. Torres a Shark? Really?

Angel From Texas

Gomez and Torres!!!!!! Yay!!!! Lets go Sharks!!!

ZooWar

Doug Wilson did nothing to strengthen our team for an extended playoff run. Time to go Wilson.

dk

If the Sharks win it all this year, I don’t know which emotion will win:

Elation that Team Teal got it done

Or, disgust that Torres gets his name etched on the Chalice.

2Teal4You

Wheelz. I was pointing out the lack of conviction in every poster who says “I’m not renewing my season tix”. And “I’ll never watch a game again”.

The truth is I kinda feel the way you do, I’ve always hated that guy. But on the other hand, being honest hasn’t gotten the sharks to a final yet so maybe this is what they need. The guy has played in two SCF game 7′s, though he lost them both.

MW

It pains me to say this, but Raffi Torres is a winner. Wherever he goes, success for his teams tend to follow. His 8th seeded Oiler team was 1 win away from the Cup. Hell, he was on the Blue Jackets for their one and only trip to the playoffs (where he had 2 assists in the sweep).

Even out of the lineup last playoffs he turned the Blackhawks/Coyotes series around with this (dirty) hit on Hossa. Coyotes made it to the conference finals soon after.

There’s a reason guys want him on their team and a reason GMs want him.

2Teal4You

NHL Sirius radio was praising DW for his trade deadline. If the pens get bounced before the CFinals that trade is not good for pit. And they were praising the Torres pickup too. Maybe we are all just too close to the situation, emotionally.

GP

“I do not EVER want to see him in a Sharks sweater.”

It could happen tonight. Phoenix is only a 50 min or so flight.

Seto, Heater, Look out!

Wheels

While I agree that Torres is in a small group of the league’s dirtiest players, it’s not the like the Sharks haven’t had players like him before. Anyone remember Marchment? Yeah I know, I had to dig deep too. Anyhow, my hope is that Torres plays clean unless someone takes a run at the more vulnerable Sharks (thinking Couture and Pavs here). Maybe he skates only enough so that it doesn’t look obvious when TMac puts him on the ice for the retribution play.

beerslayer

May Torres never suit up in teal. I sincerely hope that DW has another deal up his sleeve that involves shipping Torres off to the east coast.

Big Stick

I’m pretty pumped for Torres. I just hope he doesn’t lose his fire now that he is on the Sharks. A guy that can skate and hopefully chip in ~5 goals for the remaining games.

Get over your personal issues with the player. The point of the game is to win, and he helps.

GSDubs

Raffi Torres? The apocalypse is truly upon us.

GSDubs

If Reggie Smith and Orel Hershiser can play for the Giants…

hmslion

Boy, you can’t win around here.

Last night it was boo hoo, no one to protect our skill players now. DW is an idiot.

Now it’s boo hoo, we got someone too mean and nasty to be a on our team. DW is an idiot.

I got no problems with this. Nice didn’t win this team anything except a pretty but meaningless president’s cup banner.

FatalFlamingo

With the addition of Torres, I’m a little worried about the locker room chemistry. He’s cancer, doesn’t skate well and struggles with defensive-zone coverage. Oh yea, almost forgot, his hits are questionable and lack merit. Oh boy, here we go.

wheelz

Lol has the Torres signing been done to appease the large latino community that goes to sharks games? Gomez, Torres….this is only in response to the guy from Texas who was like “Gomez, Torres F yeah!!” haha

Spbob72

There are players you hate on the other team until they are on your team…Think Jeremy Roenick….that said…wonder what Fleury is doing today?

hmslion

And, has anyone actually looked at his stats this year post suspension?

check out the penalty minutes…

resigner

Torres aside… I look at the last week and wow did we get a lot faster. I think this team can find a way to win vs a team like CHI. The team 10 days ago simply couldn’t keep up with CHI. Team speed up and if we keep the energy level going I think DW made this years team better, got draft picks in a deep draft and shaved Cap space. Hard not to like that.

Clowe’s Backhand

Torres, yuck!

LTNC

Needed grit, settled for scum.

Mike N.

I guess Link Gaetz wasn’t available.

MW

Yeah, I’m pretty sure all the “I will never cheer for Torres” crowd will feel pretty stupid when he scores a big goal or he puts a big hit on Toews, Selanne or the Sedins and ya’ll wave your little pom poms and rally towels.

GP

MW, interesting history lesson there.

2Teal, you may be right. Too close for some, especially those that remember the Torres hit (which was a legal hit in 2006), and can’t let it go. I didn’t like the hit, but I’ll admit to selective memory.

Thing is, yesterday, there was a couple here tapping on the desk waiting for DW to do something, anything, and those are ones that tend to think this team is always too soft or not deep enough.

Well, DW created more depth, added draft picks in a deep draft year, without losing future core. The players gone are players that WERE NOT in the Sharks future plans. So hockey business was taken care of too.

Torres is an interesting pick up because of the player he is. But, he is not Cory Perry or Steve Ott. I am thankful for that.

Another way to look at it, When was the last time the Sharks have had a Hanson brother, that didn’t buy a ticket to the game? Maybe not a Hanson, but more like an Olgie.

LTNC

Torres is not a Roenick or a Brad Park (is he, TomQ?).

He’s Sean Avery without the cool clothes or great bar in Lower Manhattan.

He will do nothing to “protect” any other player. His MO is to lurk until he gets the chance to injure another player. Name one time he ever, EVER, confronted another player eyeball to eyeball or exerted an iota of positive influence on The Game or any game.

I honest to god would rather lose than to win with him. He gives the lie to everything Doug Wilson has ever said about character in the room, role in the community, building for the long haul.

JB

“He is a criminal element!”

MW – LOL’d at 3, agree with 21. Don’t like Torres but he brings what the Sharks need right now. I recall hearing that DW has tried to get him in the past so this isn’t completely shocking. Strange to say it but only 13 pims so far–is he getting smarter or just softer?

Tony23

Not one of the few guys mentioned here ever repeatedly JUMPED UP at full speed blindside into a guy’s head with his elbow, into a guy in a vulnerable and unsuspecting position like this pos scum did on numerous occasions before the league had to finally crack down on him .

cap-o-113

Torres has 5 goals and only 13 PIMS this season, he may have finally rehabilitated his ways and is now ready to be a the physical grinding addition to the 3rd and 4th lines while chipping in a goal here and there.

I will be willing to give him a second chance, but yeah not the guy we had pegged to come here…

2Teal4You

Resigner.

Good point. With just a few moves the 3 slowest sharks were replaced with players with speed. The sharks had been playing yesterday’s game, on this win streak they are playing today’s NHL brand of hockey. A win tonight would be great, this is a very different team than the one Minn beat last time.

Alex

Everybody awaiting for a big announcement from Washington. Speculation is it MAY involve Ovechkin or Backstrom.

Phil

MW @ 38

I make you this promise: I will not.

He’s a goon. He has no business in this league. He has possibly even less business in this league than Bertuzzi had post-Steve-Moore.

The only league Raffi Torres has a place in is the Federal League where he suits up with the Hanson brothers.

It has been a rule for the past two years that the team I hate most is the one that employs Raffi Torres. That team — right now — is the Sharks.

sharxfan

Doug Wilson clearly hates Sharks fans.

Tony23

This shows the teal cheerleaders for what they are. They will applaud anything Wilson does, even if it flies in the face of everything that they said when this punk was somebody else’s scumbag.

hmslion

From GP: Well, DW created more depth, added draft picks in a deep draft year, without losing future core. The players gone are players that WERE NOT in the Sharks future plans. So hockey business was taken care of too.

That’s the real story here. We made small moves for this year’s team, but started building the foundation for a stronger team in the future.

In two short weeks we moved on two players who were not good fits for the future of the club, we harvested several draft picks, cleared a ton of cap room, replaced our lost muscle for far less money, and added a quality depth defenseman who will help us when someone gets hurt.

We still go into the draft with 8 picks, including one first round and three second round picks. We are far better positioned to trade picks for younger established talent, or fill the pipeline. We are also taking important steps for redefining what the team looks like post 2014 when we have a slew of UFAs hitting the market (and won’t that be an interesting trade deadline…).

Not a bad outcome given what we have to play with (hate those no move clauses) and what was on the market.

hmslion

And, Wilson didn’t trade anyone with a minute of NHL ice time for Scotty or for Torres.

That alone, given our love of trade deadline busts, is reason to celebrate.